It is important that you lock your computer when you leave it.
When you log on to your computer, you will have access to certain resources depending on who you are. If you leave your computer unlocked, other people can use it without your consent. This means that they may able to see and edit information in your name that only you should be able to see and edit.
If you are in doubt about how to lock your computer, you can find a manual below.
How to lock your Windows computer
Here you can find two different ways to lock your Windows computer
- Press simultaneously on Ctrl + Alt + Delete and select "Lock Computer".
- Press simultaneously on the Windows button + "L".
How to lock your Mac
Lock your screen without screen saver:
- Go to Applications, Help programs, Main keychain.
- Choose Settings and tick off Show status in menu bar.
- Now, you will see a small padlock in the menu bar. Use it to lock your Mac.
Lock your screen by means off screen saver:
- Go to System preferences, Security & Privacy.
- Choose Require password immediately after sleep or screensaver begins (or set it to 5 seconds delay so that you can switch off the lock if you activate it by accident.
- Afterwards, Go to System Prefrefrences, Desktop & Screen Saver.
- Choose Hot Corners.
- Choose Start Screen Saver in the corner you wish to use and press OK.
- Now, you can start you screensaver and thereby activate your screen lock by moving your mouse to the choosen corner.
- You can also activate your screensaver by pressing cmd+shift+eject.
How to lock your Linux computer
If you use Linux without graphic user interface, remember to log out when you leave the computer.
If you use a graphic user interface, Linux is as standardised as Windows or Mac. Therefore, there can be different ways to lock your screen depending on distribution and some times depending on which user interface you use.
CTRL+ALT+L works in some distributions, however, the best advice is to use the help function which is build in to find the correct way for your system.